The weather forecast for today was not looking to most......comfortable and there were thoughts of staying inside and out of the cold. I watched the weather channel whilst doing a bit of googling and noticed that the temp rose by 2 degrees. This was my window. How often was I going to be in Washington DC?
So I put on nearly every piece of clothing I brought with me and headed out into the icy streets and headed to George Town.
I walked 3 blocks up and one across to catch "The Circulator" (say it like Arny would say it). It costs just $1, but when I tried to pay the driver told me the machine was broken and that I should just get on, like he was doing me a big favour. Score!
George Town was lovely. You were really only a few ams away from the centre of DC bit it was like you were in another town completely. Everything was pretty. The shop fronts were pretty, the side streets were pretty, the trees were pretty.
Pretty! Pretty! Pretty!
It was time for a bit of morning tea when I came across this lovely French creperie. I did think, if only my lovely cousin and travel companion were here already..... she's loves a good crepe! It was warm and cozy and quaint...
... and they had hot chocolate. This looks better than it tasted. The chap who made it had only been in Washington, and in fact the US of A for about 3 weeks. He had just moved there from Columbia.... maybe there is not a lot of call for hot chocolate there?
Down the road a bit was the George Town Cupcake shop. I think it would've been rude to not try one of their cupcakes. I'm thinking of maybe becoming a Red Velvet Cupcake Connoisseur. This one was to die for!
There was a men's clothes shop called "Keith's" and out side his shop he head a little doggy bar with water bowls...
...check out the water - frozen!
How many dopey dogs have had their tongues stuck to that I wonder?
George Town is about 4-5kms away from the Lincoln Memorial, so I decided to stay warm by walking there (you're thinking a cab would have been warmer? You'd probably be correct.)
This is the building where Martin Luther King Jnr famously made his "I have a Dream." speech at the end of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.
According to Wikipedia, he was reading his speech when Mahalia Jackson called out from behind him, "Tell them about the dream" and so he went off script to deliver the most famous and most remembered part of his speech.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.'
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
It give me a kind of chilling (pardon the pun) feeling to be standing in the exact same spot that MLK stood.
For the kids reading, this is the same place that is in the Forrest Gump movie when Forrest is receiving a medal and Jenny calls out to him from the crowd and then they run into that water to meet and hug.
Well, they must empty it in winter otherwise it would just freeze over. Great for ice skating! So it didn't look as good as it probably does in other non freezing seasons.
They even had to put up new fencing as the last one had fallen into the bit of left over water and frozen solid!
The day was still young, so I thought I would get in another couple of museums before the end of the day and walked for another 5kms or so back up to the area of Northwest where I was staying, near a lot of the museums.
I passed by the White House again..... still nobody waving me in. Whatever.
I also just happened upon the house where Abraham Lincoln died, nestled in between these other buildings.
Right around the corner was Madam Tussauds. I've never been to one before, even after living in London. It always just seemed a bit touristy and although I love being a tourist.... this just went a bit too far.
And it went even further than I thought. What a waste of money!
Because we're in Washington, MT has an extensive collection of presidents - in fact, all 44 of them which then limits the space for anyone else. Considering I only recognise a hand full of presidents, the others were a bit wasted on me. You are encouraged to take lots of photos, but the only one I really wanted to take was of my mate, Barack, but naturally they have a camera set up to take a picture for you - for free..... and they you have the choice to buy it at the end for $16. I tried to explain to the woman who did not get this job for her intelligence nor her people skills that I had no interest in paying $16 for a photo.
"But it's free to take".
"Yes, I get that it's free, but I'm not going to buy it at the end, so there's no point in taking it in the first place."
"But you have the option to buy at the end, you don't have to buy."
"I don't really want to be in it, I just want to take my own picture."
"Well, you have to take it from behind that barrier, that's just policy and I don't make the policies. But since my camera is not working, I can take one for you with you in on your camera."
"Well, that would be much appreciated."
"Oh, hold on, no my camera is working again, so..... I can't really do that now."
"What?"
See, there are other hands and fingers that are as stupidly small as mine. Thanks Janet, it's like we're long lost sisters.... or better still - hand twins!
Yes George, I will.
Here are some stars who perhaps wouldn't be totally happy with their waxy likeness......
Can you even tell who they're meant to be?
Feeling tired, disappointed and totally ripped off, I headed for the International Spy Museum. I obviously thought I had more stamina, brain power and interest than I did because this museum, although very interesting couldn't hold mine the whole way through and by the time I got to the James Bond section I'd had enough.
Next door was a Shake Shack. Marie and I tried to got here one of these chain burger places in NYC a couple of times but each time there was a line out the door - in the freezing! So, now was my chance. I had read about this place in a magazine somewhere about how good it was...... well, let while it was tasty, it didn't even come close to the best burger ever. The fries were ok, but still not the flashest.
Thank goodness I walked 27kms today!
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